At first glance it seemed like a relatively insignificant press release that government through its Department of Communication issued early Friday afternoon. The Fire Department urged residents of homes still covered by tarpaulins to check if these are secure, as the Met Office had forecast a moderate to strong breeze of 14 to 20 miles per hour with higher gusts.
High winds were indeed experienced especially overnight and during the morning hours. However, similar conditions had surely occurred more than once before since the catastrophic passage of Hurricane Irma in September 2017, so if the makeshifts roofs survived those, chances are they would do so again.
Nevertheless, the mere thought of citizens living under tarpaulins for more than a year now is a discomforting one certainly in this holiday season. The plight of these persons must not be forgotten or put on the back burner, because they have suffered long enough.
There are many reasons for their predicament, including lack of or insufficient insurance, structural deficiencies, other technical problems, issues with the landlord, etc. These are the people who obviously require assistance to get out of this unfortunate situation.
It’s important to also note ongoing efforts to provide such. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) tackled 76 roofs in six months, while the St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) fixed some 70 homes of mostly seniors.
The Red Cross provided 59 vouchers for roofing materials, the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF) repaired 50 homes mainly for its clients, Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) churchmen had worked on 13 and counting by August, Tzu Chi fixed some and the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) executed urgent repairs on the public housing units in Belvedere, while government’s own roof repair programme targeted some 150 homes of elderly and disabled residents.
Much of this was made possible with Dutch financial means, either through emergency funding for early recovery projects or via the World Bank-managed Trust Fund. That there nevertheless remain so many broken dwellings is testimony to the sheer magnitude of the natural disaster which struck the island.
Those victims having their patience and resolve so severely tested in this manner are hereby encouraged not to lose faith and keep knocking on the appropriate doors to get the help they need.
